BOXING MAY BE OUT OF 2028 OLYMPICS
Boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon were set a target of about 18 months on Thursday to make changes in order to keep their status as Olympic sports for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The governing bodies of boxing and weightlifting were described as problem children by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who has long voiced concerns with the leadership of those sports and issues with corruption and doping.
Modern pentathlon has effectively been told by the IOC to remove equestrian jumping from the event, provoking a backlash from angry athletes. The high-profile incident of a coach striking a horse at the Tokyo Olympics has undermined modern pentathlon’s reputation despite more than 100 years in the Games.
All three sports have been left off the initial list of 28 on the 2028 program, which will be put to IOC members for approval in February.
The list of approved sports includes skateboarding, surfing and sports climbing. All three made successful Olympic debuts in Tokyo and look to be locked in for the future as the IOC chases younger audiences.
Soccer is still on the Los Angeles program, but Bach put FIFA on notice because of its plans to play World Cups every two years, instead of every four.
Baseball
Former MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig signed a one-year, $1 million contact with South Korean club Kiwoom Heroes. Puig, who turned 31 this week, hasn’t played in the majors since 2019, when he played 100 games for the Cincinnati Reds and 49 for the Cleveland Indians before becoming a free agent.
• The Colorado Rockies are bringing Clint Hurdle back to serve as a special assistant to General Manager Bill Schmidt. Hurdle, who managed the Rockies to the World Series in 2007, will help with player development and the amateur draft in his new role.
• Jonathan Singleton, a former heralded first base prospect who hasn’t played in the major leagues since 2015, has signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Soccer
The United States’ World Cup qualifier against Canada in Hamilton, Ontario, on Jan. 30 will kick off at 3 p.m. EST (noon, PST). Hamilton averages a high of 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-1 Celsius) and a low of 18 (minus-8) on that date.
• This weekend’s Premier League game between Brighton and Tottenham has been postponed because of an outbreak of COVID-19 among the London club’s players and staff.
• Theodore Whitmore is out as Jamaica’s national soccer coach, seven weeks before the Reggae Boyz resume World Cup qualifying and try to climb back into contention for a berth in next year’s tournament.
Golf
Farmers Insurance Open tournament officials from the Century Club of San Diego announced that two multi-event winners on the APGA Tour, Ryan Alford and Kamaiu Johnson, have each been awarded with exemptions to play in the 2022 event.
Colleges
Miami completed a busy week of transition, announcing the hiring of Dan Radakovich as athletic director. Radakovich comes from Clemson, where he spent the last nine years overseeing the Tigers’ rise to football superpower under coach Dabo Swinney.
• Florida State hired Michael Alford as vice president and athletic director to succeed David Coburn, who is retiring.
• Vince Tyra has resigned as Louisville’s athletic director, ending a challenging four-year tenure in which he shepherded the Cardinals’ men’s basketball program through several NCAA investigations in between hiring head coaches for that sport and football.
Also
Prosecutors are entitled to blood test results in their felony drunk-driving case against former Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III, but they can’t ask doctors to tell what Ruggs said about the fiery fatal crash or his injuries, a Las Vegas judge said.
• Irish jockey Robbie Dunne was given an 18-month suspension after being found guilty of bullying and harassing female rider Bryony Frost in a disciplinary case that highlighted a weighing-room culture described as “not conducive to the development of modern-day race-riding.”